


Life Continues, Part 2

by SkystormChaosCore



Series: Life Continues [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dancing, Female Chara, Female Frisk, Getting Together, Jealousy, Marriage Proposal, Moving On, Multi, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Sad Asriel, Sad Papyrus, Self-Hatred, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, poor Asriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 11:39:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15266700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkystormChaosCore/pseuds/SkystormChaosCore
Summary: Asriel is still hung-up on Chara and Frisk, and it's ruining the two-year surface anniversary party for him.Papyrus is the last person he expects to comfort him, let alone have an unrequited love story of his own.





	Life Continues, Part 2

It seemed strange. Monsters had been on the surface for two years, and yet everything still seemed so new and different from what they were used to. Every time they looked up and saw the sky instead of rocks, they were filled with wonder all over again. That was why Asgore decided that the party for the second anniversary of the day the barrier was broken should be celebrated under the night sky. In the Dreemurr's large backyard, a stage and dance floor were set up, decorations hung, and tables and chairs arranged for an evening of festivities.  
  
The party was huge, every monster in town had been invited. Not all had come, some choosing to celebrate this joyful day intimately, with family and close friends only. But the party still saw many attendants and before the sun had even fully set, was in full swing. Mettaton provided the entertainment, with Napstablook DJing. He entertained everyone through dinner and dessert, and eventually, the flamboyant robot handed the party over to Napstablook entirely when it was time to start dancing.  
  
The Dreemurrs had their own table. After all, Asgore and Toriel were the hosts, not to mention the king and queen, and their children- Frisk, Chara, and Asriel- were the guests of honor, all having played an important role in breaking the barrier and setting monsterkind free. Also at the table were Alphys, the Royal Scientist; Undyne, the Captain of the Royal Guard; Sans, Frisk's special guest; and Papyrus, Chara's. The table was a circle, arranged so that the king and queen were sitting next to each other, Chara on Asgore's other side and Frisk on Toriel's, each human next to her special guest, Asriel next to Sans, and Undyne and Alphys next to each other.  
  
When Mettaton handed the party over to Napstablook to put on some dance music, he came down to the floor to make sure everyone was dancing. He made a beeline to the Dreemurrs' table and insisted that Asgore and Toriel be the first to dance. The two gave in and as the music started, everyone cheered as their king and queen began to dance. It wasn't long before Undyne and Alphys joined them, and many more monsters followed.  
  
Chara felt a tap on her shoulder. She had been watching her parents, smiling as she thought about how their relationship had healed. She turned her head away from the dance floor to see a nervous-looking Papyrus. "ERM... CHARA? WOULD YOU... LIKE TO DANCE?" He held out his hand uncertainly.  
  
Chara grinned. She placed her hand in his. "I'd love to." Together, they made their way to the dance floor.  
  
Frisk's eyes followed them and she smiled as they began to dance. It was a somewhat awkward dance at first, with the two seeming uncertain of where and when to step, resulting in both of them getting their feet stepped on, but the two laughed and had a great time, and Frisk thought it was cute.  
  
"looks like fun, doesn't it?" Sans's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.  
  
She turned to him, smiling shyly. "Would you like to join them?"  
  
He winked at her. "you read my mind."  
  
The two made their way to the dance floor, leaving a certain young goat monster as the only one left at the table. He watched the two odd pairs, a skeleton and a human each. The party wasn't an overly formal event, but everyone had come dressed nicely, the boys in collared shirts and the girls in dresses. Papyrus had, of course, been overzealous in his preparation, and had come in a full tuxedo. He had even convinced his brother to put on a proper shirt, though to his dismay, Sans had come with his old blue hoodie over said shirt. Frisk and Chara, meanwhile, were, as far as the young prince was concerned, the belles of the ball. Whether they had planned to come to the ball as twins or they really just thought that alike, they had come in fairly similar dresses, both sleeveless and just past knee-length with similar cuts. The only noticeable difference between them was that Frisk's dress was sunset red and Chara's was royal purple. Both girls had worn their gold Heart Lockets. Asriel reached into his shirt and pulled out his own locket, pulling his gaze away from the dance floor to look at the inscription on it. "Best Friends Forever". He sighed. Things would be so much simpler if that was all they were to him. He looked back to the dance floor. Chara and Papyrus had managed to get into a rhythm and stopped tripping each other. Sans and Frisk meanwhile, had set a rhythm from the beginning, starting out incredibly slowly and picking up the pace as they grew used to it. As Asriel watched, he couldn't stop himself from wishing, more than anything, that he could be the one up there with them, with either one of them, instead of the skeleton brothers. He immediately felt sick to his stomach at the thought, as he reprimanded himself, reminding himself that Frisk and Chara were happy.  _That_  was all that mattered, not these selfish feelings. But he couldn't make the bitter, jealous thoughts go away, and with each passing moment, his stomach felt even more sick.  
  
"Well well well, what do we have here~?"  
  
Asriel groaned inwardly. He could  _not_  deal with this right now. "Howdy, Mettaton."  
  
"And what are you doing here, all alone and looking  _oh so miserable_?"  
  
"I'm not miserable."  
  
"Oh, but of course you are. You must be watching everyone having  _so much fun_  on the dance floor and just  _wishing_  you could be with them."  
  
"No, Mettaton, really, I'm fine. I don't feel like dancing right now."  
  
"Nonsense! I will not stand to see the Prince of All Monsters, the  _guest of honor_ , anywhere but on the dancefloor. And at MY party, no less."  
  
"It's not your-"  
  
"I will  _not_  stand for it! Why, there are any number of girls who I'm sure are just  _dying_  for a chance to dance with the Prince."  
  
Asriel covered his face and groaned. "Please, Mettaton, no...."  
  
"Hm..." the robot appeared not to hear him as he rubbed his metal chin and thought. "Aha! Don't go anywhere, Your Highness! I'll be right back!"  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me-" The robot was already gone. "...Asriel." Now, the big question. Should he stay here or make a break for it? If he went now, he might be able to make it to the back door and into the house before Mettaton found him. Then, he'd probably have to hide in his room for the rest of the party to avoid the robot, but then again, he wasn't exactly having fun here.  
  
Just when he had made the decision to run, the robot swooped back in. "Sorry to keep you waiting, darling!"  
  
Asriel looked to see who Mettaton had brought with him. He had been expecting someone like Catty or Bratty (or, knowing the two of them, both), or some other squealing teenage girl who just couldn't wait to tell all her friends that she had danced with the Prince, who would hold onto him like a vice for the entire party, claim to be his biggest fan, and otherwise practically drool over him until Frisk or Chara took MERCY and rescued him. To his surprise, however, Mettaton had waltzed up to him with none other than Shyren in tow. Asriel looked at Shyren, obviously doing a poor job of hiding his confusion because Shyren hid her face before muttering a greeting.  
  
"You're in luck, Your Highness~! I  _knew_  dear Shyren would be too shy to dance with anyone, and Blooky's occupied at the moment, so now you have an absolutely  _fabulous_  dance partner." With a grand flourish, he pulled the two monsters almost chest-to-chest and then shoved them onto the dance floor. "Have fun, darlings~! And remember, the cameras are on you!"  
  
Asriel didn't hate Mettaton. At times like these it was just difficult to remember that.  
  
Still, as he looked at Shyren, so nervous she was almost trembling, he admitted that it could be much, much worse. He gave her his best reassuring smile, which seemed to calm her down a bit, and offered a hand. "Well, we might as well make him happy. Otherwise, he's not going to leave us alone."  
  
Shyren gave a small, shy smile and nodded. Together, the two proceeded onto the dance floor and started to dance. They did so in awkward silence for about a minute before Asriel decided to break the tension. "So... Mettaton decided to have you dance with me since Napstablook's DJing? Are you two... like... dating?"  
  
Shyren looked down. In a soft voice, barely above a whisper, she said, "Mettaton thinks we should be."  
  
"Ah." There was a pause. "Well, he  _was_  built by Alphys, so I guess it should be a surprise to no one that he's a shipper."  
  
Shyren laughed softly.  
  
Asriel decided to keep talking. "Are you and Napstablook good friends?"  
  
"Well... yeah. I, um, I actually followed his music on the forum before I met him. I was... pretty surprised to find out he was the same guy from the Undernet. But we both like music and we talk about it a lot when we're not working with Mettaton. It's a bit easier to talk to someone who's as shy as you are. I guess that's where Mettaton got the idea that we should be a couple, though honestly, I think he just wants Napstablook to have a girlfriend."  
  
Asriel chuckled a bit at that. The air had definitely relaxed between the two involuntary dance partners, and Asriel was even starting to enjoy himself. His good mood was abruptly killed, however, when he noticed Papyrus leading Chara away from the party.  
  
Two things stopped Asriel from following them. First, knowing that Papyrus was far too innocent to do anything worth being remotely worried or even jealous over, and second that Chara would be furious when she inevitably found out. She had a scary way of  _knowing_  things. Still, Asriel couldn't help but feel the urge to follow them anyway.  
  
Asriel looked over to see Sans and Frisk's reactions to their siblings' departure. They had to know, Sans noticed  _everything_. Sure enough, they were glancing in the direction the couple had gone, but they didn't seem even remotely worried, they were actually  _smiling_ ,  _giggling_. Asriel told himself to stop being selfish and paranoid.  
  
Shyren asked how he was enjoying the party, seeming significantly less nervous. Asriel lied. He was having a lot of fun. The party was great. Were his trousers getting warmer or was it just him?  
  
It was a few minutes later, but sure enough Chara and Papyrus came back. Chara was beaming, looking happier than she had in quite possibly the whole time Asriel had known her; she was practically glowing. Papyrus, meanwhile, was so excited he was bouncing up and down, literally jumping for joy. He wasted no time in addressing the whole party, "EVERYONE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS A WONDERFUL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!"  
  
All eyes immediately turned turned to him. Chara was turning pink and looking like she wanted to hide.  
  
"JUST NOW I HAVE ASKED CHARA TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND... AND SHE SAID YES!!!"  
  
A cheer went up from the crowd, particularly loud from their friends. Frisk wasted no time in running up to a red-faced Chara and throwing her arms around her, telling her how happy she was. Undyne trapped Papyrus in a headlock and noogied the skeleton while Alphys gushed about ships. Toriel and Asgore gave the skeleton mandatory hurt-my-daughter-and-I-will-end-you glares, but soon turned good-natured and congratulated the two. Sans sauntered up to his brother. "nice going, bro."  
  
"INDEED BROTHER!!! NOW YOU MUST CATCH UP WITH FRISK! NYEH HEH HEH!!!"  
  
Frisk, who had at this point released Chara, turned a shade of red to rival Chara and quickly covered her face. Sans raised an eyebrow. "you sure about that, bro?" And with that, he took Frisk's wrists and gently removed her hands from her face before kissing her, right on the mouth. Cheers erupted from the crowd, and from their friends. Papyrus had stars in his eyes, Undyne caught a fainting Alphys, Toriel and Asgore glared, but not for long, Chara smiled, and, after a moment of being shocked into stillness, Frisk closed her eyes and kissed back.  
  
Asriel did not cheer. He did not cheer for Chara and Papyrus, and he did not cheer for Frisk and Sans. He felt his gut sink to his feet and stones replace it. He knew he should be happy for Frisk and Chara, just look at how happy they were, at how they were beaming, but he just couldn't bring himself to be. He was selfish and jealous and he hated it. As the party started up again, Shyren turned to him. "Isn't that great?"  
  
"Uh... sorry, I have to go."  
  
"Go?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, to the bathroom. I'll be back but, uh... don't wait for me."  
  
He left a confused Shyren and the party, going around the house to sit on the front porch steps. The house blocked most of the music and noise from the party. What he could still hear blended with crickets and the occasional passing car. The air was cooler away from the party, though not too chilly. A light breeze passed through every now and again. Above, the stars shone. In short, it was a beautiful night to feel sorry for himself.  
  
Ever since Asriel's rejection by the hands of Frisk, both she and Chara had been nothing but kind, caring, and gentle to him, and all without making Asriel feel like they were tiptoeing around him. Unfortunately, while this made Asriel feel significantly less miserable, it didn't help him be any less in love with them, which in turn made him feel more miserable when his best friends made their feelings known. As understanding and considerate as they were about his feelings, both Frisk and Chara did nothing to hide their own feelings. Not that they should, and Asriel scolded himself constantly for being selfish and wishing that they would, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling like dirt as time went on and the two girls increasingly called Asriel their brother and became closer and closer to the skeleton brothers. And now... they were dating them officially. Asriel didn't know how to feel about that. Well, no, he knew how he  _should_  feel- happy for them- it was just that what he actually felt was jealous, hurt, and, although he knew it was completely unfair to the two of them, betrayed.  
  
Frisk and Chara hadn't betrayed anything. They had made it clear from the start that they had nothing but sisterly feelings towards Asriel and had never led him to believe otherwise. Still, the selfish part of him said, how could they get with other people when they knew how Asriel felt about them? How could they hurt him like that?  _Stop it_ , Asriel told himself,  _you have no right to believe that Frisk and Chara should put aside their own happiness for you. You're not entitled to anything, and still, they've given you nothing but love and support, which is way more than you deserve, repaying them with jealousy and bitterness._  Asriel's soul revolted. Revolted against himself, against Frisk and Chara, against Sans and Papyrus, against this whole stupid situation.  
  
At some point, Asriel decided he was tired of wallowing in his self-pity and started coming up what he was going to say when Chara, Frisk, or possibly both of them noticed he was absent and came looking for him. All of that was thrown out the window when he heard, "HELLO, TINY ASGO- I MEAN, ASRIEL." Asriel turned his head to see that yes, indeed, it was Papyrus standing there.  
  
"Oh... howdy, Papyrus."  
  
"UM..." Papyrus gestured to the spot next to Asriel. "MAY I SIT DOWN?"  
  
"Uh... sure."  
  
Papyrus sat down and there was a moment-long silence.  
  
"Did Chara send you?"  
  
"OH, NO. SHE ACTUALLY WANTED TO COME HERSELF. BUT I TOLD HER I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU."  
  
Asriel turned to look at him, a confused expression on his face. "Why?"  
  
"I... WELL... I THOUGHT MAYBE IT MIGHT HELP TO TALK TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN FRISK AND CHARA ABOUT HOW YOU'RE FEELING?"  
  
"... Did Chara tell you?"  
  
"WHAT? NO, OF COURSE NOT."  
  
"... So it's really that obvious then? Does everyone know?"  
  
"NO, NOT AS FAR AS I CAN TELL."  
  
"..."  
  
Papyrus sighed. "LOOK... I KNOW I CAN COME OFF AS NAIVE, AND YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T THINK I, OF ALL PEOPLE, WOULD FIGURE IT OUT."  
  
Asriel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.  
  
"BUT, WELL, I THINK THAT OF ALL PEOPLE, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU'RE FEELING."  
  
Asriel couldn't keep the surprise off his face. Papyrus? Smiling, optimistic, carefree Papyrus?  
  
"BUT, IF IT'S ANY CONSOLATION, I HAVE YET TO FIGURE OUT THE MYSTERY COMPLETELY."  
  
"Oh? What do you mean?"  
  
"I MEAN, I CAN'T QUITE FIGURE OUT WHETHER YOU HAVE UNREQUITED FEELINGS FOR FRISK AND ARE JEALOUS OF MY BROTHER OR HAVE UNREQUITED FEELINGS FOR CHARA AND ARE JEALOUS OF ME."  
  
"..." Wow. That was... accurate. Maybe Papyrus really did know what he was talking about.  
  
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME IF YOU DON'T WANT TO, OF COURSE."  
  
"No, no, it's alright. The truth is, it's actually both. I liked Chara first, all the way back before... everything, but she didn't return my feelings, even then. So then I met Frisk and fell for her, but then Chara came back and I realized that I still have feelings for her, but she still doesn't want me and neither does Frisk. And it's not either of their faults, and they've both been... absolutely the best friends anyone could wish for throughout all of this, but... if there's one thing I can't do, it's let go."  
  
Papyrus listened patiently throughout all of this. When Asriel finished, he let out a thoughtful hum and appeared to mull it over.  
  
"Papyrus?"  
  
"YES?"  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
"OF COURSE."  
  
"How did you figure it out?"  
  
"HM... WELL, I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE SEEMED... DOWN LATELY, SO I ASKED CHARA ABOUT IT. SHE SEEMED TO KNOW, BUT COULDN'T TELL ME. SO DID FRISK. AFTER THAT I STARTED TO TAKE NOTICE OF HOW YOU LOOKED AT THEM AND HOW YOU LOOKED AT MY BROTHER AND ME. THE FEELINGS I SAW WERE... COMPLEX, BUT FAMILIAR. THAT WAS HOW I REALIZED YOUR FEELINGS."  
  
"Familiar? Have you ever...? No, sorry, I understand if that's too personal."  
  
"NONSENSE! YOU HAVE SHARED WITH ME, IT IS ONLY FAIR THAT I SHARE WITH YOU!!!"  
  


*        *        *

It had always been Papyrus's dream to join the Royal Guard. It was a cool job full of cool people that helped monsters and captured people who broke the rules. How could it not be the place for him? He managed to convince Undyne, the Captain of the Royal Guard, to train him by staying outside her house and impressing her with his determination. The two bonded and became good friends over training, but Papyrus knew that if he was going to get in, he would have to impress her. Really impress her. First, he tried to impress her with fighting skills and special attacks. Then he made up his mind to capture a human... when one eventually fell down. He threw himself at both pursuits with all his energy, and somehow still had some left to take care of the house and his lazy brother. Undyne had once told him she admired that about him, but still he strove to impress her.

At some point, Papyrus didn't know when, impressing Undyne, which had previously been a means to an end, became an end in itself. "-so I can join the Royal Guard" was left off of "I need to capture a human so I can impress Undyne."

Sans sometimes came to watch Papyrus set up his puzzles. Papyrus always liked it better when he did because it meant he could talk to someone as he worked. Papyrus would never tell his brother, or God forbid Undyne, this, but he hated being alone. It always made him feel slightly nervous, not to mention lonely. One time, when Sans decided to come, Papyrus was very excited for this particular puzzle- a bunch of weapons swinging over a bridge. Undyne loved weapons and violence, so Papyrus was sure she'd love this trap and he couldn't wait to show her. He vented his excitement to his brother as he worked on it, telling him about all the exceedingly violent animes Undyne always watched with Alphys and then told him about in training. At some point, Sans, currently leaning against a tree near the ravine, said, "hey bro, you know undyne's a lesbian, right?" From the way he said it, it seemed like an offhand comment, but something in his voice caused Papyrus to stop and look up from his work.

"YES, I BELIEVE I HEARD THAT ABOUT HER. WHY?"

"oh, nothing." Sans waved it off as though it were meaningless. Papyrus, though confused, had chalked it up to Sans being Sans and gone back to work. He hadn't thought much of that short conversation until much later. Poor Papyrus really had no idea. His brother had noticed he had a crush before he knew it himself.

And Papyrus wouldn't notice it for quite awhile. Not until a certain human fell down a hole and into the lives of every monster in the Underground, including his. When Frisk had flirted with him during their fight, Papyrus took her on a date. That was what he was supposed to do, right? As the date progressed, however, he did not find himself falling in love with her. What he felt for her was nothing like what he'd read about or seen on TV or in the movies and, he was surprised to find himself thinking,  _was nothing like what he felt for Undyne_. Eventually, he let Frisk down (and rather well if he did say so himself) and was left alone in Snowdin to mull over this latest revelation. Was it possible that he was  _in love with Undyne_? It didn't seem possible... yet somehow it felt right. Papyrus was wondering whether or not to ask his brother when the fish herself had shown up at his doorstep, panting and sweating, just in time to answer a call from the human.

Everything was perfect for... a few hours. Undyne was staying at his house, having burned down her own during an overly enthusiastic cooking lesson, and the two hung out, answered Frisk's calls, and at some point even made spaghetti (thankfully without a house fire). It was just the two of them since Sans spent the whole day following the human (Papyrus was starting to wonder if second best was already taking an interest). It felt natural and perfect, and Papyrus found himself wishing that he could hang out with Undyne like this more often, not just in training sessions and cooking lessons. And as if that wasn't enough, Undyne was more impressed with him than she had ever been! Instead of his fighting or human-capturing skills, she was impressed with his friendship skills (although she had to admit Frisk was not difficult to get along with)! She was so impressed, in fact, that she asked him to train Alphys to like herself more! Papyrus was happier than he had ever been in his life and was already thinking about how he should tell Undyne his feelings for her.

Then, Flowey had shown up and suggested that he gather up everyone and stop Frisk and Asgore from fighting each other, Papyrus had decided that was a great idea, and so he and all his friends (plus a goat woman who he had mistaken for Asgore's clone, but was apparently Toriel and a friend of his brother's) had put a stop to the fight. Everything had been great. Then Undyne and Alphys had kissed. Well, they had  _almost_  kissed, Toriel had put a stop to it, but it had still felt like a slap in the face. He didn't say anything, and hadn't had very long to think about it. There had been vines, Flowey, and then a gap in his memory which frustrated him to this day, and then any thoughts he might have had about Undyne and Alphys's relationship had been eclipsed by his excitement when the barrier was broken and he was finally able to go to the surface and meet the sun.

Aside from the fact that there was now no longer a Royal Guard to join, everything had been great. But as that first year on the surface progressed, so did Undyne and Alphys's relationship. As that happened, the happiness Papyrus had felt upon realizing his feelings for Undyne slipped into sadness and jealousy. He found himself thinking back to his brother's words- "you know undyne's a lesbian, right?"- and cursing himself for being so stupid, for not seeing what his brother had seen, for not seeing how he felt or where those feelings would inevitably lead. Because Undyne was a lesbian and there was nothing anyone could do about it. She would never see him as anything more than a friend. A good friend, but a friend nonetheless. Papyrus was not one who usually kept useless things, but that was exactly what these feelings were- useless. And Papyrus just couldn't seem to get rid of them.

Papyrus hated that the happiness of two of his good friends was making him unhappy, and every time he saw them together, he felt sick at his own jealousy. Needless to say, carrying on with Alphys's self-esteem training became difficult, especially when Undyne was on the sidelines yelling things like, "You got this, honey!" The two were so sickeningly sweet it could give anyone cavities, and Papyrus hated how depressed that made him feel.

Eventually, Papyrus gave up on the training. And that was when Sans got worried. Because Papyrus did not give up, especially not when it came to his friends. Papyrus came home that night after repeatedly assuring Alphys that it was not because of her, feeling awful because he knew she didn't believe him, and dodging questions from Undyne to see Sans at the kitchen table. He was leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed in all but his eyes. His eyes held a look that Papyrus knew all too well, one of Sans's signature looks that said "i know something's up, and no, you're not getting away."

Papyrus cleared his throat. "HELLO, BROTHER."

"heya, paps."

Papyrus shifted nervously. "WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR DINNER? I'VE GOT A NEW RECIPE I'VE BEEN MEANING TO TRY-"

"What's going on, bro?

"I- I'M AFRAID I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT."

"Bro, you've got a ton of skills, but lying ain't one of them."

He hadn't said the pun. This was bad.

Sans sighed. "paps... sit down." Papyrus complied, sitting at the kitchen table across from his older brother. "and don't look so scared. you're not in trouble."

Papyrus tried to relax, but failed spectacularly.

Sans sighed again. "paps... i'm worried. and it's not just me either. undyne, alphys, tori, frisk, even mettaton can tell something's up. i don't think i've ever seen you this unenergetic, unenthusiastic, and just downright miserable in my life. and when we're on the surface for crying out loud. so what's up?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S UP," Papyrus replied dejectedly.

"you're gonna have to elaborate, bro."

"BUT YOU  _DO_  KNOW! YOU SAID IT YOURSELF! 'YOU KNOW UNDYNE'S A LESBIAN, RIGHT?'"

Sans was silent for a moment. "... ah. so that's what it is." There was another pause. "talk to me, paps."

"BUT I JUST TOLD YOU-!"

"talk to me anyway. tell me how you feel. it'll help, really. just talk it out."

"BUT YOU'RE SAD ALL THE TIME, AND YOU DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT ANYTHING."

Sans's permanent grin faltered and Papyrus knew he had struck a nerve- figuratively speaking.

"bro, that's... that's different."

"BUT YOU DON'T TALK TO ME. YOU DON'T TALK TO ANYONE."

"i  _do_  talk to people, paps, but that's not-"

"SO YOU JUST DON'T TALK TO ME."

Sans went silent. The grin fell away entirely. Quiet engulfed the room for a moment before Sans spoke. "Papyrus... I do talk to you. I talk to you about a lot of things. But there are some that you just wouldn't understand. It's not your fault that you don't understand, nor is it anyone else's. In fact, it's probably better that you don't understand. But the truth of the matter is: you wouldn't understand. You're still my brother and I still love you with my whole soul, but you just would not understand. Does that make sense?"

"Y-YES..." There was pain evident in Sans's expression and Papyrus hated that he had brought that out in his brother.

"alright. good. and because i love you, i want you to talk to me because i absolutely hate seeing you down in the dumps like this."

"WAIT." Papyrus could not stand seeing the pain in Sans's eyes. "I UNDERSTAND IF YOU CAN'T TALK TO ME ABOUT... WHATEVER IT IS, BUT THERE IS  _SOMEONE_  YOU CAN TALK TO, RIGHT?"

Sans paused a moment before answering. "yeah, there's someone i can talk to, someone i  _do_  talk to."

"WHO?"

"paps..."

"I PROMISE I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING IF YOU TELL ME WHO YOU CAN TALK TO."

"... alright. it's frisk, but, please, don't ask her about it."

The quiet intensity of that request surprised Papyrus. "I WON'T, I PROMISE." Whatever this topic was, it clearly upset Sans greatly, and if it would have the same effect on Frisk, Papyrus decided he would not bring it up with her. At least they were helping each other. And Papyrus didn't need Sans to tell him that. Sans had gotten visibly better since Frisk had come into their lives, and now that they were on the surface, he had, once in a while, been known to put in actual effort. Papyrus may have been Sans's brother, but what was between those two was clearly something much deeper.

"alright, bro, now i believe we made a deal?"

Papyrus told his brother everything, and Sans was a very good listener. He didn't fall asleep once, or even look like he wasn't paying the most acute of attention.

When he was done, Sans asked, "feel a bit better now, bro?"

"I... YES, ACTUALLY, I DO. I FEEL MUCH BETTER."

"good."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I SHOULD DO? SHOULD I TELL ALPHYS I'LL TRAIN HER AGAIN?"

"do you feel like you could do that to the best of your ability?"

"... NO."

"then you shouldn't do it."

"... STILL, I FEEL REALLY BAD ABOUT IT."

"don't. you can't be the best at everything, bro. and you're already the best at way too much."

Papyrus chuckled a little at that.

"alphys already has a whole lot of people helping her. she's got undyne and frisk and mettaton and asgore... and probably a whole bunch more people who i'm too lazy to remember."

"BUT SHE ASKED  _ME_  TO HELP HER AND I LET HER DOWN."

Sans sighed and raked his hand over his skull. "bro... i'm going to let you in on a secret. nobody's perfect. sometimes we get asked to do things and sometimes we let people down. that's just a part of life. god knows i've let down more people than i can count. it's not your fault that you're not the right person to help alphys. you tried, and that's what matters. alphys will understand that."

"I SUPPOSE..."

"now come on, i think i heard you say something about dinner and i'm starving. tell you what, i'll even help you make it."

"REALLY?!"

"sure, bro."

Sans got out of his chair and Papyrus found himself smiling. "SANS?"

"yeah, bro?"

"YOU'RE THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD. AND I'M SORRY ABOUT EARLIER. I KNOW YOU DON'T TELL ME EVERYTHING, AND THAT'S OKAY. I JUST WORRY ABOUT YOU TOO SOMETIMES."

Sans looked back at his brother. "don't worry about it, bro. and i'm only the second-best brother."

As time went on, Papyrus felt his jealous feelings slowly fade away and before the first year on the surface was up, he was back to his old self again and relations with Undyne and Alphys had normalized. It wasn't really something he thought about or noticed, at least, not until a second human entered his life.

Monsters had been on the surface for little over a year. Frisk had been talking with Alphys for a while about something secret, something that no one else knew about. They kept it very quiet, had probably been talking about it before anyone else knew they were talking. When they finally revealed it, it was only to Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne. Frisk had insisted that Toriel and Asgore not know until "they knew if it had worked". "It" was a plan to bring back Toriel and Asgore's lost children, Asriel and Chara. Alphys had explained the plan, though only Sans seemed to understand. Papyrus was great at many things. Science was not one of them. Even he knew that.

The next day, Frisk retrieved a talking, golden flower from the Underground. Papyrus had been rather confused as to what Flowey the Flower had to do with the royal children. That is, until Flowey had told him, rather bluntly, "I  _am_  Asriel. ...Idiot."

A few days later, Flowey the Flower was just a regular flower and a goat child, about the same age as Frisk, who looked too much like Toriel and Asgore to  _not_  be their son, was lying on a hospital bed in the True Lab. Alphys had decided it would be best to carry out the procedure there, where the King and Queen were unlikely to find out about it and where the necessary equipment already existed.

Frisk stood over the young monster, her adopted brother now that Papyrus thought about it, with a nervous, but hopeful look on her face. Slowly, the goat let out a low grunt, and his eyelids fluttered before finally opening, revealing silver eyes. He blinked a few times before his eyes focused on Frisk. He smiled. "Frisk...?"

Frisk smiled, obviously happy to see him awake. "Hey. How ya feeling?"

"Um... alright, I think. Did it... Did it work? Am I...?"

Frisk grinned. "You're alright now... Asriel."

Asriel's eyes widened. Slowly, he looked down at himself. Arms, hands, torso, legs, feet, all covered in white goat fur. "Heh... heh heh..." A wide smile slowly began to spread over his face. Suddenly, and without warning, he lunged up and forward, wrapping Frisk in a tight hug. "Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you..."

"H-Hey..." This had clearly caught Frisk off-guard. "Uh, wow, you're strong for just getting your body back. And you shouldn't be thanking me. It was Alphys who did all the work."

"O-Oh... no no no... I-It was Frisk who never gave up on you. I-I just... handled... you know... the science-y stuff..."

Asriel turned to grin at her, but suddenly his vision went dark and fuzzy as dizziness and slight nausea overcame him. Frisk caught him before he tumbled to the floor.

"Wh-Whoa! C-Careful! Y-Y-You're still not used to your new body yet!"

Frisk helped Asriel lay back down. Then, she started walking away.

"H-Hey! Where are you going?"

Frisk turned back around, giving him a hopeful, but strained smile. "Hopefully, I'm going to make this day even better." She turned to Alphys. "Ready?"

"A-As I'll ever be. Y-You?"

"About the same."

Alphys turned to Sans, Undyne, and Papyrus. "C-Could you guys s-stay here, w-with... uh...?" She looked nervously at Asriel.

"Asriel."

"A-Asriel."

Papyrus and Undyne nodded in agreement, but Sans sauntered up to them in his usual lazy manner, but that manner also had a certain tension to it, that was barely noticeable, but at the same time let everyone in the room know he wasn't going to be moved. "nope. i'm going with you." His eyes dared someone to challenge him. No one did. Frisk actually seemed relieved. "Well, if that's settled..." She turned to Papyrus and Undyne. "Wish me luck!"

"GOOD LUCK, HUMAN!"

"You'd better not die, punk."

Frisk smiled, but it seemed slightly forced. "Don't worry, I won't."

"you'd better not," said Sans in a low voice, his gaze directed at Alphys. The scientist shrank under his, for lack of a better term, threatening gaze. "D-Don't worry... I-I've made absolutely sure that th-there's no way any harm could come to her. E-Even if it doesn't work, F-Frisk will be perfectly safe, I s-swear on my life."

"good."

And with that the three of them left, leaving Papyrus, Undyne, and a very worried-looking Asriel alone. The goat monster turned his head to look at Papyrus. "Where are they going?"

"I AM AFRAID I CANNOT TELL YOU, YOUR HIGHNESS. IN CASE IT DOES NOT WORK, FRISK HAS SWORN US ALL TO SECRECY."

Asriel stiffened a little where he lay.

"OH NO! DID I SAY SOMETHING WRONG?!"

"No, no, it's just... it's been awhile since anyone's called me that."

"YOU MEAN 'YOUR HIGHNESS'?"

Asriel nodded.

"OH, I SEE. ... WOULD YOU PREFER TINY ASGORE CLONE?"

A beat passed in silence as that sank in. Then, suddenly, Asriel was shrieking with laughter. His sides shook and his eyes watered, and then he was laughing and crying all at the same time.

Undyne raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh, kid, it wasn't  _that_  funny."

"IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY AT ALL!!!" objected Papyrus, causing Asriel, who had been just starting to relax, to go into a whole new fit of laughter. Eventually, he calmed down and sat up, wiping tears from his eyes. "Heh... sorry. It's just... It's been so long since I've been able to laugh or cry or just... feel anything. It's... kind of a relief to be able to laugh."

"ARE YOU SURE YOU SHOULD BE SITTING UP, TINY ASGORE CLONE? DR. ALPHYS SAID YOU SHOULD REST."

Asriel snorted at his new nickname, but managed to keep his composure. "Nah, I'm fine. I feel much better now, honest." He leaned back.

"WELL... IF YOU'RE SURE..."

"Hey, uh, Asriel."

Asriel turned his head to look at Undyne.

"What do you want to do with that?" She pointed to the potted golden flower on a table a little ways away.

Asriel's eyes followed her hand. Papyrus could only imagine what was going through his head, looking at the golden flower that had housed his spirit. Now it looked just like any other golden flower. Slowly, a mischievous grin spread across his face. He looked down at his hands and flexed them. Once. Twice. Then he held out his right hand towards the flower. A small ball of white fire appeared in it before shooting over to the flower. The plant erupted into flames and was ashes in seconds.

Undyne stared at the now-empty flowerpot for a moment before turning to Asriel and flashing him a toothy grin. "That was COOL!!! I think you and I are going to be good friends!"

Asriel flashed her a smile. "Okay. Sounds good."

"TINY ASGORE CLONE. I'M NOT SURE YOU SHOULD BE USING YOUR MAGIC. YOU REALLY SHOULD NOT BE STRAINING YOURSELF."

Asriel waved him off. "I'm fine. Really. You don't have to worry, Papyrus. And besides, it's been so long since I've been able to use my magic, my  _real_  magic. One tiny fireball isn't going to kill me."

Papyrus sighed. "ALRIGHT, FINE. BUT DON'T DO IT AGAIN. NOT UNTIL YOU'VE PROPERLY RESTED. THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NOT HAVE HIS FRIEND'S BROTHER EXHAUSTING HIMSELF ON HIS WATCH!"

Asriel frowned a bit at that, but gave in, lying down and closing his eyes.

Maybe a half an hour later, the goat child's rest was interrupted when Sans came into the room. His stance was as lazy as always, but he was grinning ear-to-ear. And not just a plastered-on one, but a real, genuine, happy grin.

"BROTHER? WHAT IS IT? DID IT WORK?"

"you'll see, bro." He walked over to Asriel's bedside. "c'mon goat boy, get up. someone wants to see you."

"Goat boy?" Nevertheless, Asriel sat up. "Who wants to see me? Frisk?"

"you'll see."

Asriel slid off the bed shakily. "My parents? Are they here?"

"you'll see,  _kid_."

Papyrus groaned at the pun.

Asriel tried to take a step, but his legs betrayed him and he tumbled to the ground. Well, he would have, but Sans caught him and helped support him.

"DO YOU WANT ME TO CARRY YOU, TINY ASGORE CLONE?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I can do this, I  _want_  to do this, it's just been awhile."

Leaning on Sans for support, Asriel made his way down the hallway and into another room, followed by Papyrus and Undyne. When he saw who was in there, he stopped and stared in shock.

Alphys was there, practically bouncing with the energy and excitement of someone who's just seen everything go completely right. There was Frisk, but her face was hidden because she was hugging someone else and sobbing into their shoulder. This person was doing the same, so Papyrus couldn't quite see them, although from how Alphys was acting, he decided that the procedure must have worked and this person must be Chara, the final Dreemurr child.

Apparently, Asriel had reached the same conclusion. "Ch-Chara...?"

The person, the girl, Chara, turned away from Frisk, brilliant red eyes still wet from crying.  She broke into a grin immediately upon seeing her brother. "Asriel!"

Completely forgetting his instability, Asriel ran forward and threw himself at Chara and, consequently, Frisk. However, Frisk and Chara were apparently none too steady either, because this sent all three of them sprawling to the floor. They didn't seem phased, though. Instead, they were all laughing and hugging and crying. Papyrus remembered looking as Sans as he watched this, and thinking that yes, if he hadn't seen his brother in over forty years, he would act like this too. Undyne had lifted her girlfriend off her feet, yelling, "YEAH! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!"

It wasn't too long after that that Undyne had gone to retrieve Toriel and Asgore while Alphys, Sans, and Papyrus had been left to care for the weak, exhausted, and hungry trio. During this time, Papyrus had taken the opportunity to get to know Asriel and Chara better, though he mostly ended up talking to Chara since Asriel kept talking to Frisk. At the time, Papyrus hadn't thought much of how frustrated Asriel seemed when Sans interrupted to ask if they (but really mostly Frisk) needed anything. Nor, in fact, had he thought much of it when Frisk had jokingly commented to Papyrus how it was actually Chara's idea to flirt with him during their battle and Chara had hid her face and groaned. Papyrus hadn't minded getting to know Chara, however, and he found that he enjoyed her company quite a lot. He also found that something in her bright, red eyes attracted his attention more than usual, but he hadn't thought much of it then, either.

Then, the King and Queen arrived and there were more tears and even more joy. At the time, Papyrus had just watched the reunion and felt happy for all involved. Little did he know that that spark in Chara's eyes was also in all of her, in her spirit and her body, and that it would never stop pulling at his attention the way it had that very first day. And little did he know that as he spent more time around her, he would start to see even more in her, start to develop a close bond. She was intelligent, caring, compassionate, a good listener, assertive, sometimes even tough when she needed to be, and shared his interest in cooking. Sure, she could be pessimistic at times, but when that happened, Papyrus always made sure to cheer her up.

In fact, the only bad thing Papyrus could see about her was that she had taken after her mother so much, which wouldn't have been a bad thing at all, except this included a love of awful puns. But, as he had told Sans one night over dinner, his brother made puns all the time and he loved him all the same, so he could love Chara too.

And then he had frozen, with his fork in his mouth. Because he had just said he loved Chara. And he had just realized it was true.

Sans hadn't said anything, just finished his dinner, cleared his plate, and went up to his room (if with an ever-so-sly smile), leaving Papyrus alone with his thoughts. Where those thoughts had led him: to that very party where he had confessed his feelings to Chara and been delighted to find she felt the same way.

*        *        *

Asriel stared ahead. "Wow... uh... wow. Papyrus, I... I don't even know how to..."

"IT'S OKAY, TINY ASGORE CLONE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING."

Asriel looked down and chuckled. "You know, considering all the time I spent with you when I was a flower, I'm surprised I never figured out you had a crush on Undyne. I guess it's hard to recognize feelings in other people when you can't feel them yourself." A remorseful look passed over his face.

"ASRIEL..."

"I'm fine, I'm fine, just... nevermind. Thank you. For telling me, I mean."

"IT WAS NO PROBLEM."

Before either could say anything further, Frisk came out from behind the house. "There you two are, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"WHAT IS IT, FRISK?"

"It's Undyne. She says she has an announcement and she wants everyone to be there for it."

Curious, Asriel and Papyrus got up and followed Frisk back to the party. Undyne was standing on the stage. As they arrived, Frisk waved at Undyne. Undyne waved back and shifted on the balls of her feet. She looked uncharacteristically nervous.

"Alright, well, if everyone's here, I guess we can get started. Um, Alphys, could you come up here please?"

All eyes shifted to the reptile, who nervously made her way up the stage, looking confused and rather anxious. She always hated being the center of attention.

When Alphys had made her way to Undyne, the fish cleared her throat and said, "Alphys, as you and everyone else know, this is not only the second anniversary of the day monsters made it to the surface, but also the second anniversary of the day you and I became a couple. In those two years, we've had a few ups and downs, but I can honestly say you've made me the happiest woman under or above ground. So, in light of all that, and with all of our closest friends here to witness, I... well... I have a question for you." As she said that final sentence, Undyne pulled a small box out of her pocket. She knelt to the ground on one knee and Alphys covered her mouth with both hands, tears beginning to well up in both eyes. "Alphys, I love you with all my soul, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So..." she opened the box, revealing a gold ring with a glittering, red stone. "...will you marry me?"

Alphys was speechless for two heartbeats. Then... "Oh my god... oh my god... oh my god, YES! YES OF COURSE I'LL MARRY YOU!!!" The short lizard flung herself at Undyne, catching her off-guard and bowling over the larger fish. Undyne sat up, laughing, and embraced the scientist in a fierce hug, giving her a kiss on the mouth before grabbing her hand. As Alphys's left hand shook with excitement, Undyne slipped the ring onto her appropriate finger and it was official. They were engaged. The crowd, who had been cheering since Alphys said yes and had not let up since, let out an extra-loud whoop.

Undyne and Alphys kissed once more, earning one more scream from the audience, before descending from the stage, hand-in-hand, to meet their friends. Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Chara, Frisk, Asriel, Mettaton, and even Napstablook all crowded around them, congratulating, cheering, and clapping on backs. Mettaton called for a dance in celebration, and everyone took to the floor. Asriel stood off to the side of the floor, watching.

"Hey." Asriel whipped around to see Chara standing there. "Are you okay? I didn't get the chance to ask before."

Asriel smiled. "Yeah. I'm okay. Papyrus came and talked to me. It... helped, I think."

"I'm sorry. I should have thought about what that might do to you, but when he asked I was so caught up and I just wasn't thinking and-"

"Chara." Asriel put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "The last thing I want is for you to put aside your happiness for my sake. I'm happy for you, really. Papyrus is... he's really nice."

Chara looked at the ground and her cheeks turned a bit pink...er. "Yeah, he is."

"You know, actually, I was just thinking... well, I couldn't help but look at Alphys and Undyne and thinking..." He looked. The two were talking with Papyrus. They looked so happy, and he did too.

"Well? Don't leave me hanging, Asriel."

Asriel smiled. "I hope you marry Papyrus."

He glanced at Chara to see her face go slack with shock. Then, she gave a small smile and chuckled. "What? Come on, Asriel, we've only just started dating."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just..." He looked back to Undyne and Alphys. They were dancing again, and they looked practically giddy in each other's arms. "I want to see you that happy. Frisk too."

"With Sans?"

"Yeah..."

Asriel looked back to Chara to see her smiling at him. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Asriel returned the hug and they stayed like that for a while before Asriel looked up to see Papyrus at the edge of the dance floor, trying and failing to look like he wasn't waiting for Chara. Asriel laughed and separated from Chara. "I think your boyfriend's waiting for you."

Chara turned to look. She gave an exasperated sigh, but she looked happy. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked, turning back to Asriel.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Better than okay, actually."

She smiled. "I'm glad." She took a few steps away, but then turned back. "Go find a partner and join us! I'd better not see you off to the side, and God help you if you wander off again."

Asriel gave a half-smile. "Yeah, I kind of abandoned Shyren, I guess I should go find her."

Chara's smile fell. " _Shyren?_ " Then a knowing look came into her eyes. "Mettaton?"

"Mettaton."

"Well, you shouldn't keep her waiting any longer. See you on the dance floor."

"See you."

Chara walked to Papyrus, and Asriel watched as they made their way onto the dance floor to join the others. Then, he walked off into the crowd to look for Shyren. It didn't take long to locate her, she was on the dance floor with Napstablook. It seemed Mettaton had taken over the party and sent his cousin down to mingle. Shyren spotted Asriel and waved. She looked like she was having fun. Asriel smiled and waved back.

"OOF!" Asriel suddenly felt himself collide with another living being. He turned and found himself face-to-face with a pair of pale gray eyes. The pair of eyes stepped back to reveal that they belonged to a girl. She looked to be about his age, and she had pale skin, blonde hair, and was wearing a silver dress that matched her eyes. Asriel found himself staring at her for a moment before he finally collected himself. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!"

"Oh, no, it's okay. I should have been looking where I was going."

Funny, she  _looked_  human, but something about her... there was a certain energy to her that Asriel usually only sensed around monsters. He had always assumed it was magic. But she looked  _human_. And now that he was really looking at her, something else was... odd. "Um... sorry, but... do I know you? Something about you is... familiar."

"Huh? Oh, no... I don't think so."

Huh.

"I'm Sam, if that helps. Sam Cross."

Asriel cracked a smile. "Asriel Dreemurr. It's nice to meet you." He held out a hand and Sam shook it.

"Likewise."

Out on the dancefloor, Frisk nudged Chara. "He's talking to a girl!"

"So..." said Asriel. "What are you doing off the dance floor and all by yourself?"

Sam cracked a smirk. "I could ask you the same question,  _Your Highness_."

"Heh. You caught me." There was a pause. "So are you really not here with anyone?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Yeah... why?"

"Well, it's just all my friends are out on the dance floor and I could use a partner." He smiled. "Plus, I'd hate to see someone like you off to the sidelines."

Sam turned pink and Asriel had to take a mental pause. Was he actually  _flirting_  with her?

His thoughts were interrupted when Sam looked to the ground and said, "I... I can't really dance."

"That's alright, I can show you."

Asriel offered his hand. After a moment's hesitation, Sam took it.

Chara nudged Frisk. "Oh my God!"

Asriel led Sam onto the very edge of the dance floor and, just a little awkwardly, placed her hand on his shoulder and put his hand on her waist. "All you have to do is follow my lead. Watch." And, as a new song started, he slowly led her through the steps.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted of deviantArt.
> 
> The unintended sequel because goat bro deserves to be happy, goddamnit.
> 
> I'm in the process of writing a Part 3, but I have no idea when I'll get around to finishing it.
> 
> Undertale and its characters belong to Toby Fox.  
> Sam is my OC.
> 
> Enjoy!


End file.
